We’re back! Back with the series that has been refreshing for me and at least one other person. The title sounds crazy but that’s how I’m coming. *Ye shrugs.*
So if you’re not ready for a leveling up of your faith... please spare your feelings because the Holy Spirit is coming in as a heavy weight champion.
Before we begin, I just want to celebrate you all for how far you’ve come pre-pandemic and during it. Celebrate yourself for holding on a little longer. You’re needed and your story of overcome, too.
But you’re reading this for some reason and, hopefully, it’s to ultimately better your faith. So let’s get into it!
Recent blog pertained to Moses’s sister Miriam. Quick story: a mean Pharaoh placed an order out for newborn Hebrew boys to die. A bit much? I know. Continuing... a woman places her baby boy (Moses) in a basket in the Nile River. Why? I’ll explain that another day. But this bold move resulted in the baby boy (Moses) being eventually brought into the very presence of who wanted him dead based on his nationality—in Pharaoh’s palace. Miriam (Moses’s older sister) positioned herself to look over the Nile River to make sure her baby brother arrived to wherever the waters’ drift would carry him unharmed and led to:
1) being reconnected back to his mom for a short time;
2) being adopted into the royal family, and, most importantly of all;
3) alive! Because Pharaoh knew he was a Hebrew but spared his life.
To know more read Exodus 1 & 2 and the blog before this one.
Figuratively, you may serve as the watch-guard in someone’s life to ensure they’re safe and protected. For others, you are the one being sought after while you are aimlessly journeying in life. Some have both. Some feel they can’t relate to neither—especially, feeling like they are not being cared for by someone to check in on their livelihood. This is where ministering comes in 😏
Allegorically, there’s a man named Jesus, who serves as this PERFECT watch-guard. Plainly, this is how it goes... There’s a Heavenly Father, who hated the fact His people kept sinning because they are just not perfect. So, He decided He would have a Son, who is notable for His perfection and blamelessness, to become a human and walk among us and with us. His existence would drive religious and political leaders to brutally execute Him for loving on and hanging with people who were working-class citizens, prostitutes, promiscuous, scamming, disabled, sick, homeless, hustling and teaching the Word in parables like He’s Yahweh.
But He was, is and will be. Plus who was this human to put Himself in a righteous position and defy the law by performing so-called miracles? Calling that blasphemy because religious leaders were to remain “clean” by staying away from “unclean” people to remain in the temple. (But they were allowing people to gamble inside the temple and don’t get me started about trying to stone my best friend and mentor Mary Magdalene! That’s for another blog.) After His (Jesus) heart-wrenching death, He resurrected a few days later with proof of His wounds to show for it. He then sent His Counselor, the Holy Spirit, to be with us in the meantime until His advent. This was done to give non-Jewish/non-Hebrews a chance to experience the Holy One in a limitless, intimate and relational way beyond the law and temple.
It sounds unbelievable. But I’m a living testimony to attest that experiencing this passionate, sacrificial, limitless and overwhelming love, you’ll start to believe it. It can’t be found anywhere else where someone laid out there life in exchange for relationship and eternal grace.
But that’s not why your faith may need the flood. That was just a recap. Just follow me. I won’t mislead you.
I mentioned God as the Heavenly Father, Jesus as the Son and the Holy Spirit as the Advocator. You’ll hear this oftentimes referred to as ‘The Holy Trinity.’ It is. But I have a better word to introduce to you. It is Elohim. (L-Oh-Heem.)
Elohim means more than one (three) in the sense of divine rulers monitoring over domain. Oftentimes, you will hear me say Elohim because it refers to all 3 and it’s a deeper meaning to why I address the Lord beyond the simple mention of God. (That’s another topic.)
Elohim is first mentioned in the very beginning in the original context of Hebrew in Genesis 1:1. “In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth.” (Berĕshith (Genesis) 1:1 TS2009)
The next verse continues to say, “And the earth came to be formless and empty, and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of Elohim was moving on the face of the waters.” (Berĕshith (Genesis) 1:2 TS2009)
Then there’s the sequential order of how the world formed before the human input of Big Bang and Pangea. “And Elohim said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it came to be so. And Elohim called the dry land ‘earth,’ and the collection of the waters He called ‘seas.’ And Elohim saw that it was good.” (Berĕshith (Genesis) 1:9-10 TS2009)
So Elohim separated land from water and water from land and was pleased with it. Then finished creating. Check this though... a few chapters later... He sends a massive flood basically destroying majority of His creation (Genesis 5:5-7).
The Lord was fed the f up with the corruption so He was plotting to ruin His creation.
(This is where Holy Spirit coming in as Mayweather... because Elohim came at me like this. Plus, it’s really refreshing to know.)
That’s how He feels today. Yes, He does love us. Yes, He does want us to love Him. That’s why He sends constant reminders and gives endless grace. But He’s getting tired of our bs. And don’t be like, See that’s why I don’t believe. What kind of God would do that? But wouldn’t you be tired if someone violated you when you’ve given them guidelines how to treat you and what is pleasing to them?
🦗🦗🦗
Exactly. Simmer down.
So there’s a man named Noah who comes from the lineage of Adam and Eve’s third son, Seth. Noah’s name in Hebrew means “rest; repose.” Noah was favored in the Lord’s sight. (Genesis 6:8) And it was foretold by his dad, Lamech, that Noah would be the one to “...bring us relief from the agonizing labor of our hands, caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.”” (Genesis 5:29 CSB)
In concordance, repose is rest. An indication that a place to rest is refreshing. By Merriam Webster, serving as a noun, it’s:
(a) a state of resting after exertion or strain especially, in sleep; (b) eternal or heavenly rest
(a) a place of rest; (b) peace, tranquility; (c) a harmony in the arrangement of parts and colors that is restful to the eye;
(a) lack of activity (quiescence); (b) cessation or absence of activity, movement, or animation;
composure of manner (poise)
As a intransitive verb:
(a) to lay at rest; (b) to lie dead; (c) to remain still or concealed
to take a rest
to rest for support (lay down or up against)
archaic—rely
As a transitive verb:
(a) to place (confidence, trust, etc.) in someone or something; (b) to place for control, management, or use
archaic—to put away or set down (deposit)
Sounds a lot like the CDC regulations of quarantine.
So let’s rewind. Noah was the entry point of relief (repose) being brought unto the world for some time. Foreshadowing, Noah serves a representation of Jesus in this context. Boom. We got it.
Personally, I’ve been given Divine direction to study Isaiah. (Sidebar: Just because I am doing it doesn’t mean you do it. Yield to what the Lord is instructing you regarding your personal relationship with Him. You will miss His movement trying to do what others do when that’s not meant for you.)
The mention of repose comes in Isaiah 28:12 when an order was given unto those who believed in God and they didn’t listen. They took it for granted.
“He had said to them, “This is the place of rest; let the weary rest; this is the place of repose.” But they would not listen.” “The word of the Lord will come to them: “Law after law, law after law, line after line, line after line, a little here, a little there,” so they go stumbling backward, to be broken, trapped, and captured.” Isaiah 28:12-13 CSB
Ouch. Yeah... That’s for the people who loosely declare they love the Lord and freely sin because you’re set on law-breaking and not having too many rules but you’re a citizen and follow most rules because you’re not arrested. Or your rap sheet with law enforcement shows for it.
GET THIS! Freely sinning is different from making a honest mistake. I make mistakes all the time and I learn from them. When I used to be on my “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?” wave that was freely sinning. I knew not to but I did. It wasn’t until I really started reading the Word more, being committed to serve for my recent church, and realizing I was hindering myself to become better... I wanted to experience genuine transfiguration.
Without having a necessary repose being sent to you, you will end up broken, trapped, and captured. By what? Satan. Sin. Your flesh. Your foes. Full of anxiety. Depression. The insanity you face with your family. Generational curses. Basically, everything and anything that does not bring you: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit. And may I add how I just how Apostle Paul says, “Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.” (Galatians 5:22-23 TPT)
But I’m not done. There’s more.
“Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries; Noah walked with God.” Genesis 6:9 CSB
“Here is the story of Noah’s family line. Noah was a godly man. He was without blame among the people of his time. He walked faithfully with God.” (Genesis 6:9 NIRV)
Noah was a godly man of integrity, without fault in his generation, and he lived close to God. He walked faithfully with God. He had integrity while he walked faithfully with God.
Soooooo... because Noah walked faithfully with God and had integrity and was without blame among the people of his time God spared Noah, his wife, his three sons, their wives, and the animal pairs the Lord had chosen to go inside the ark.
“I am going to release a great flood that will destroy all life upon the earth, and every breathing thing under heaven will perish—everything on earth will die. But as for you,” God is talking to Noah about Noah, “I will establish my covenant of friendship, and you will escape destruction by coming into the ark...” (Genesis 6:17-18)
And not only that, Noah built an ark to the exact detail and instruction given by the Most High.
Why? BECAUSE OF HOW NOAH LIIIIVVVEEEDDDDD! He was favored. Noah is goaaallllsssss!!! Do. You. Hear. Me?! Goals! And he was obedient! Oh so obedient. (Genesis 7:5) Because listen... I’m not all that obedient yet. I’m getting there... with these assignments He gives me...
But hard reality check... some of you know dang well you are still picking and choosing how you want to live but still praise the Lord. That’s not blameless. That’s not integrity. That is not faithfully walking with the Lord. I wasn’t living in favor when I was freely sinning because He was still blessing me. No. I was playing Russian Roulette with His grace! I wasn’t having a repose. I kept going and trying my luck. In perfect timing, I was kept.
Continuing...
At 600 years of gray-ness (get it? lol), the great flood came and that was Noah’s cue to tell his family bring dat hea boy! “Then seven days later, massive floodwaters covered the earth.” (Genesis 7:10) “On that day, all the fountains of the subterranean deep cracked open and burst up through the ground. Heaven’s floodgates were opened, and heavy rains fell on the earth for forty days and forty nights.” (Genesis 7:11-12)
Yes! The Lord destroyed the earth in the same amount of time He created it. He can do that because that’s His business *in my Tabitha Brown’s voice*. Plus I told y’all, He was tired and fed up with our ish. I mean hey! I’m not a parent but I’m sure a child who is off their rocker makes you want to RKO them for plainly not listening. (I had my moments as a teenager. Whew lol thank the Lord for growth!)
When the flood came, Noah and his family and those animals were shut in. (Hint: this quarantine!) The Lord Himself shut them in. Uh hellooooo people. This whole pandemic is the hand and work of the Lord. Y’all be giving Satan too much credit. I’m not saying the Lord sent the virus. However, He let that bad word do what it has done to do what He needs for each individual. Satan has to get permission to cause mess. Hence, ELOHIM RULES IT ALL! Mmkay!
“The raging flood completely inundated the earth, but the ark floated safely, drifting upon the surface of the water, until the highest mountains were completely submerged beneath the rising waters. The waters rose over twenty-two feet above the highest mountains.” (Genesis 7:18-20)
How many of you all have complained about mountains? Heights too high for you to reach? Your mustard seed-sized faith not showing for anything because the mountain or mountains haven’t moved?
I want to give you another refreshing perspective. A loving secret... when a natural disaster like a flood comes, it places you ABOVE aaalllllll heights and depths. They’re below you. This is elevation on a different level! Chronologically, without a flood, we wouldn’t have a Messiah...
Yes, it’s not how we like it or want it but you have to think about prayers you’ve prayed and Yahweh being all mighty and powerful answering them the way He sees fit for us. This is HIS show! Not ours. Or Satan’s. We’re just in this long series of a telenovela (stories aka soap operas).
And then we bring everything full circle! Being above the flood, shut in during this natural disaster for our protection for a moment’s repose is the very same place the Spirit of God was in the very beginning (Genesis 1:2). You are hovering and moving on the same playing field (above the waters, mountains, death, eliminated wickedness) as the Spirit of the Lord from the very beginning before creation. He is with you. He is moving like He did in the beginning during this natural disaster (repose). He’s positioned to be your watch-guard. How amazing is that?! So amazing that during this shut in time, He has a reward for you out of this because:
“For the LORD God is our sovereign protector. The LORD bestows favor and honor; he withholds no good thing from those who have integrity.” Psalms 84:11 NET
“For יהוה Elohim is a sun and a shield; יהוה gives favour and esteem; He withholds no good matter From those who walk blamelessly.” Tehillim (Psalms) 84:11 TS2009
Hence, someone like Noah.
“God’s heart was moved with compassion as he remembered Noah and all the animals, large and small, that were with him in the ark. And God caused a wind to sweep across the earth again and the waters subsided. He closed the subterranean fountains and the floodgates of heaven and held back the rain. After 150 days, the floodwaters gradually receded from the earth and the waters began to subside.”(Genesis 8:1-3)
“And when Yahweh smelled the sweet fragrance of Noah’s offerings, his heart was stirred, and he said: “Never again will I curse the earth because of people, even though the imagination of their hearts are evil from their childhood; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done. I promise this:
“As long as earth exists there will always be seasons of planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.”
Genesis 8:21-22
Eight... New beginnings. That chapter is numbered that for a heavenly reason. New covenant! New promises! New starts! New [fill in the blank]! He had to get you away to rest. To repose. And it’s no coincidence that this verse connects to Psalm 1.
With this pandemic, I’ve been able to unpack and heal from trauma. Before this pandemic, after leaving church and being employed by another human, I’ve been stretched thin but have learned to fully depend on the Lord and not having to be my own protector and provider. And the blessings behind my faith and obedience have been miraculous! Totally not understanding why He told me to leave my recent church, I now know it was preparation for this world-wide quarantine. And through this quarantine, I’ve learned to fearlessly practice vulnerability (which I internally struggle with) explicitly with my assigned protector to experience different depths of Jesus’s love. Ultimately, this is training for my future family.
(Speaking of which... hope has been revived to want a marriage. Another day another story.)
He doesn’t want you broken, hopeless, helpless, captured or ensnared by anything that doesn’t come with His scent, character, presence or confirmation. That’s why He used Noah. That’s ultimately why He sent His son.
And when it was time to be released from the ark, Noah didn’t become a drunk. So please stop misteaching my Father’s word. He got a little tipsy on the wine. A drunk is habitually intoxicated. It was recorded once that he had some potent wine. (I don’t know about y’all but Cooper’s Hawk has potent wine and I can relate to Noah about being slumped the way he was.) And when he sobered up, he determined how the nations would go from his sons. Take the time to really read your scripture.
But after all that to say this...
Oftentimes, we see devastation as negative because of lost and pain. The Lord caused a flood and many things were destroyed. But remember... the first placed He hovered was over the waters while it was dark, formless & empty. Then He declared for light to shine. He was looking over after Noah floating amongst the floodwaters as Miriam was looking after Moses. Allegorically, He has, will and does the same for the world because He does love us. Individually, He has, will and does the same for each person—especially those who love and accept His Son.
See the disaster (this pandemic or other tragic occurrences in your life) as a hard reset for Elohim to move. New brilliance, promises & blessings are coming come to you through obedience & faith. Love the disaster.
I leave this prayer with you:
Dear Heavenly Father,
We understand the disaster is never fun to experience but oh so beneficial to our soul. It reposes our faith and elevates our obedience to yield to You more. You give us incomparable comfort and guidance that no human or other god in any other religion can demonstrate and fulfill. May someone know You through this blog. May someone have felt a spark of curiosity to ask more questions. May You gain a new daughter or son today or embrace the return of a child who wandered off. Let this be the example of love they’ll never forget. In Jesus’s name, amen.
I offer my gifting and calling to be of service to you if you want to talk about this more... If you have questions to ask or a simple prayer you need or for some people to return to God, I would love for you to email me at ebonymacton@gmail.com, WeAreAAOY@gmail.com or DM (Instagram or Twitter) me at @EbonyMActon, @AcceptingAllofYou or @WeAreAAOY. I’d love to help you and get you to where you’ll never want to leave.
Until next time.
Lovingly,
Ebony M. Acton🌸
This was so good, Ebony!! So good